Review of Nothing More, Nothing Less by Ashley Dukart

 

Note: This is an older YA/New Adult novel. This book contains mature content.


*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Ashley Dukart for providing me with a copy!*

 

 When Brandon finds that his mother committed suicide, he blames himself for her decision. His guilt drives his young life into a downward spiral of drugs, drug dealing, and violent repercussions when his “business partners” don't get what they want. Haunted by the past memories he often relives, his brothers, who don't always seem to understand him and what he's going through, desperately try to help, but as life becomes further entangled, will Brandon find the escape he so desperately needs before it's too late?

 

    This was quite an intense story for me to read. I mean, I've read some pretty dark and/or emotional novels, but this one affected me differently. I'm pretty sure it's because those other emotional reads have been paranormal or fantasy books, and this was...well, it was much more real. The way that addiction destroyed so many lives and ruined so many opportunities struck a chord with me, and caused me to reflect on events in my own life.

    The main character, Brandon, is one of those people who has you shaking your head with disapproval one minute, then shaking your head with sympathy the next. The story really revolves around the life choices he's made and their miserable aftermath. You just want to grab his drugs and get rid of them forever. Brandon starts out as a self-medicator with an appetite for drugs, alcohol, and ladies. Mostly drugs, though.They free him from the burden of having to feel, which is apparently a heavy burden on him. (I really disliked him in the beginning because of this. His apathy, his lack of caring about, well, anything.) He has two brothers who are honestly concerned about him, and they try to get him to stop using, with no success. They let him live in their home, where he spends most of his time recuperating from crazy nights out. You soon find out that Brandon not only uses drugs, he deals them too. Many issues he faces in the novel are due to his poor choice of a "career."

    As the story progressed and pieces of his tragic past were revealed, I felt more sympathetic towards Brandon. One bad decision led to another horrible consequence, which led to another bad decision, which led to another consequence... it was a vicious cycle of sorrow, anger, and apathy. Sometimes he really did try to make the right choice, but a previous decision or consequence ruined it and he was dragged back into the world of drugs. There was no miracle rehab, no "love conquers all - even addiction" romance, no religious enlightenments to draw Brandon out of his dire situation. He had to realize, on his own, that life was not better because of drugs...it was worse.

    I appreciated the reality of this novel. Brandon's story did not have a perfect happy ending. (I mean, just as a forewarning, this author was not afraid to kill off characters!) As much as I enjoyed the story, however, I had a few issues with the writing. There was some irritating repetition of certain phrases or ideas. For example, every time Brandon was with a girl, the author would say that the characters "claim" each other's mouths/bodies etc. over and over. Another issue I had is that every time a new character was introduced, even if they were just a really minor character, Brandon would describe what they looked like. It made me think that these characters would return later in the book, or had some unknown importance, but that wasn't the case. 
    Overall, the issues didn't detract from what was a riveting story. You may be blown away by the ending, but it leaves you with a sliver of hope...not just for Brandon, but for anyone else in the real world using drugs. I would recommend this book to older readers willing to read about the harsh realities of heavier drug use, from a user's point of view.

Lia's Rating: Liked It

Check it out on Goodreads here! (There's currently a giveaway happening, ends May 31st)
Check it out on Amazon here!
 

 

 

 



Beauty Review: Vaseline Total Moisture Clean Feeling Lotion

   As I've continued my search for the HG dry skin relief, I've been testing out some fancy shmancy products and some drugstore products. Vaseline lotions were on sale and so I figured, why the heck not? I grabbed three that sounded like moisturizers I might like. Total Moisture Clean Feeling was the first one I tried, and unfortunately, I'm not impressed.
   There are a few different lotions in the "Total Moisture" line. This one is supposed to leave your skin with a fresh-not-greasy feeling. It boasts about a "stratys-3" formula and pure oat extract, but I don't really care about special ingredients. It's more important to me that my moisturizer is a) non-greasy and b) long lasting.
   It's definitely a lightweight lotion. It smells like oats, I guess, but there's also some other fragrance in there. Not my preference, but hey, it says "fragrance" right there in the ingredients list, so that's my own fault. It takes about 30 seconds for it to absorb into my hands (roughly the same for body.) My skin felt moisturized for about 10 hours. Not too shabby for a drugstore product, methinks! On the bottle, it says that this stratys-3 formula is supposed to hydrate down to the deep layers of your skin, but I didn't get that "my skin's thirst is quenched!" feeling. Total Moisture feels nice for the first few minutes... then I have some issues with it.
   My biggest problem was with its non-greasy formula. It's true, I didn't have that continuously slimy feeling on my hands, long after applying it. That's because I had a continuously powdery feeling on my hands. When this lotion dries, it leaves this sort of film on top of my skin. You know how as a kid, you play around with liquid glue and let it dry on your fingers, then peel it off? No? Oh, well that was basically my childhood. It felt like I had a very thin layer of glue all over my hands. It also felt that way on my body. Gross!
   My other issue was that about 3 minutes after applying, my skin started to feel itchy, and scratching didn't help. At all. Looking at reviews, it seems like the same thing has happened to some other unfortunate people, so it's obviously not a rare reaction. Thankfully the itchiness was only temporary, so I wasn't suffering or anything. Just mildly annoyed.

Overall, I would not recommend this lotion to anyone because of my not-so-great experience with it. Try at your own risk!


Lia's Rating: Horrible/DNF


  

Quick Review: The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic

"Magdalena does not panic when she learns that her younger sister has disappeared. A free-spirit, Jadranka has always been prone to mysterious absences. But when weeks pass with no word, Magdalena leaves the isolated Croatian island where their family has always lived and sets off to New York to find her sister. Her search begins to unspool the dark history of their family, reaching back three generations to a country torn by war.

A haunting and sure-footed debut by an award-winning writer, The First Rule of Swimming explores the legacy of betrayal and loss in a place where beauty is fused inextricably with hardship, and where individuals are forced to make wrenching choices as they are swept up in the tides of history."

For some reason, I just couldn't emotionally attach myself to this story. Don't get me wrong; I feel that the plot and the characters were well written. The themes of family ties, immigration, and dealing with horrors past really hit home.  I loved the setting, a tucked away island in Croatia with an everyone-knows-everyone-else population.  BUT. I think my issue with this book was that there were so many different storylines and memories all included in one book...just when I thought I was getting to really know one of the characters, the storyline would switch to another POV (and maybe another era!) and I'd have to refocus myself and try to remember what had been happening to so-and-so during their previous chapter. The timing of the book was all over the place... sometimes two consecutive chapters were happening at the same time, sometimes they'd have weeks or more of time difference between them. Basically, I spent a lot of reading time feeling confused. I think that readers will either enjoy the complexity of the novel, or get tired of trying to connect the dots.

Lia's Overall Rating: Okay Read

Beauty Review: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

As I mentioned here, I ran out of my usual cleanser and had to switch to a new one. I decided to try Neutrogena Naturals... it was SO unpleasant to put it mildly and I realized it was time to try a certain sample that had been hiding in my room for quite some time.

The cute little packet of Fresh Soy Face Cleanser lasted for about 4 or 5 uses. It had a mild, herb-y smell to it, not too unpleasant. It doesn't get foamy, and the clear gel formula spread nicely over my face. (My face felt cool and refreshed after using it.) It removes face makeup, but my Stay Don't Stray undereye primer stubbornly remained. I haven't tested it on heavier eye makeup, but I'd assume that it would work fine with most products that aren't waterproof.

Unfortunately, after a good ol' pat-n-dry, my face felt tight and dehydrated. I mean, it wasn't as bad as the Neutrogena Face Cleanser From Hell...but I was not happy with the flaky feeling I got after washing. It's my face, not a biscuit!

(Yummm.) Anyway, overall this face cleanser was good, not great. The smell was a teensy bit strong, and I wasn't satisfied with the results, so another one bites the dust! of the garbage bin.

Lia's Rating: Liked It

Review of Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck (Book 4 in the Tiger's Curse series)

From Goodreads: With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

If I was to write alllll of my feelings about this book, I'd just be regurgitating what lots of other reviewers have already said. So I'll stick to the basics, and write this with the hopes that you've either read all of the other books in this series already or don't care about the other books. Because I just can't bring myself to type more about this idiocy than I have to.

This book was DISAPPOINTING in so many ways. Plot, characters/characterization, romance, and that ending.  I mean, there were enjoyable parts, but I don't even remember them because the disappointing parts make me so frustrated. I really was in love with this series, until the dumb romantic drama started, but Destiny made me eager to finish the book just to be done with it. The storyline kept switching between the beating-a-dead-horse love triangle and grocery-list steps of the quest. There's a new plot twist, but instead of helping the plot, it just made it more confusing. The characters, for the most part, were just idiotic. (And the author killed off one of two characters I could still bear to read about!) Ren and Kishan lost ALL traces of their personalities, all of those traits that made them interesting, and all they cared about was pleasing Kelsey. Kishan became a freaking mushy teddy bear, and Ren was playing the tragic "I'll love you from afar but not really because I'm hanging out with you all of the time" card. They were both wrapped around Kelsey's little finger, and she strung them along for the entire book. Not cool, Kelsey, not cool.  The ending was like the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. One week after the end of the quest, when they've (mostly) returned home for good, Kelsey makes this absolutely ridiculous decision. A decision that should have been emotionally impossible, IF SHE ACTUALLY HAD FEELINGS throughout the book. It made me want to attempt violence towards fictional characters. (That's usually a bad sign...)

And now there's going to be a fifth book? ...Why?!?! The fourth book wrapped things up pretty absurdly neatly. And I don't like some of the theories floating around the internet. Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know how NOT to stretch out a love triangle or destroy the individuality of main characters and love interests.

Lia's Rating: Okay Read (upgraded from Horrible/DNF because the mythology and scenery was well written.)